The YuYu
The YuYu, also known as the Shadow People or Doralyt Lyf La Sorafys (People of the Shadows), are a malevolent race of diminutive cross-dimensional travellers and soul thieves, stealing away sleeping people to be slaves in their own realm. To any sleeping or otherwise unconscious being, the YuYu can be heard approaching by their steady, droning chant "YUyuYUyuYUyu" which is what gave them their name. To an ordinary child, these small shadow people are about knee-high, but can transform, or "mityt dolyd famfys" (become like fog). Huge numbers of them travel together as an inky black tentacled cloud, and this is the form they usually take when stealing people. They spirit away any hapless creatures on the verge of sleep that they can find, and take the victims to a shadow world to serve as slaves in the darkness. They surround their victims and transform into a single form of black fog which acts as a gateway to the shadow world. While in this form they can travel across distances at great speeds as well as separate themselves into several masses of fog. They are not invincible and can be defeated, however, as proven by Bitey. The YuYu speak the shadow tongue, or Sarus, which utilises the solfège musical notes as syllables. The YuYu can also communicate Sarus silently to one another by flashing their eyes in colour-sequences. History The hunt for Bitey The YuYu first appeared at the end of the ''Brackenwood'' episode ''LittleFoot''. Continuing from LittleFoot, the creatures attempt to capture Bitey and send him to the shadow world after he is briefly knocked unconcious by a Bigfoot. Bitey wakes and manages to evade the creatures and to defeat them by dispersing the cloud they form and stamping on them as they try to flee. YuYu world Whenever the YuYu steals creature and spirit them away, they transport them to their shadowy realm so that they can work for them as slaves in the darkness. When they surround someone and forms into their fog-like form, they spin around the victim and the black smoky form acts as a gateway to the realm of the YuYu. The world of the YuYu is depressingly dark and grey as the sun never shines, and everything is in silhouette. The landscape is desolate, filled with pointy mountains and an eternally dark grey sky. Description Anatomy The YuYu are a race of humanoid dimunitive pitch-black creatures, about as tall as a human's knee. They have large pointy ears and a set of white tiny sharp teeth and big glowing white eyes, which they can flash in colour-sequences in order to communicate through the Sarus language. YuYu have different head shapes, ranging from pointy to round, and some have little hairs on top of their head. While travelling the YuYu form into a single black fog or smoke, capable of flying and travelling at great speeds. Nature and behaviour Like the Faeries, the YuYu are masters of interdimensional travel and can cross into our world at will (and several other worlds adjoining their own). For this they don't use any machine or technology, because they are like the Faeries in that they have magic. The YuYu are usually only ever seen or heard by people as they are on the edge of sleep. The approach of the YuYu horde is heralded by their low, steady chant, which is a mysterious part of their ritualistic 'crossing over'. It has been said that if the YuYu's chant is interrupted, their advance is thwarted. As someone falls asleep, they cross a short stretch of no-man's land that divides the world of waking and the world of dreams. For humans, this is where they are at their most vulnerable, and if the YuYu ambush them there, their best escape is to flee back to the world of the waking. This is done by forcing one's eyes open and sitting up. If someone rushes forward into the world of dreams, they are also fairly safe, but with the YuYu in pursuit, it is very difficult to fall asleep. While stealing a victim, they will surround them and transform into their fog form and surround them. This "vortex" is an integral part of the transition and acts as a gateway. The YuYu speak the Sarus language, however they can also communicate silently to one another by flashing their eyes in different colour-sequences, as Sarus can be communicated through colour. Trivia * The YuYu were conceived by Adam Phillips from childhood memories. In the ''Brackenwood Character Sketchbook'' he recounts how he would see little shadowy people in his room at night while lying in bed. He wrote ''‘I was convinced that I could hear them coming for me as I was falling asleep. They had a low droning chant, “YUyu YUyu YUyu YUyu…’ ''He mentions that as an adult he now recognises the sound as his own heartbeat, but even so, the little shadowy shapes and faces were etched into his mind. External links * The story of a human boy who are taken by the YuYu, written by Adam Phillips Category:Species Category:Shadow people Category:Magic